genealogy

1 of 2

noun

ge·​ne·​al·​o·​gy ˌjē-nē-ˈä-lə-jē 

also

-ˈa-lə- 

also ˌje-nē-

plural genealogies

1

: an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms

2

: regular descent of a person, family, or group of organisms from a progenitor (see progenitor sense 1) or older form : pedigree

3

: the study of family ancestral lines

4

: an account of the origin and historical development of something

genealogical

ˌjē-nē-ə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

ˌje-nē-

adjective

genealogically

ˌjē-nē-ə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē 

ˌje-nē-

adverb

genealogical

2 of 2

adjective

gene·​a·​log·​i·​cal ¦jēnēə¦läjə̇kəl 

äjēk- also ¦jen-

variants or less commonly genealogic

-äjik, 

-äjēk

: of or relating to genealogy

genealogically

-jə̇k(ə)lē 

-jēk-, 

-li

adverb

Synonyms of genealogy

Noun

• ancestry
• lineage
• pedigree
• family

Examples of genealogy in a Sentence

Noun

They've been researching their genealogies.

has a distinguished genealogy that traces back to William the Conqueror

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Those women provided a genealogy of aspirations and ideas from which Kingsolver fashioned herself and her sense of the world. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

The genetic genealogy technique involves taking crime scene evidence to develop a profile that is used to search consumer DNA databases for genetic relatives who consented to assist law enforcement. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026

Charland said people can trace their ancestry to the Hales as well as people with an interest in the Hale family genealogy are invited to revisit the family homestead. — Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026

Boston said the charges followed years of investigative work from the DeKalb Cold Case Task Force, using advanced technology in DNA and genealogy mapping in cold cases. — Taylor Croft, AJC.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English genealogie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin genealogia, from Greek, from genea race, family + -logia -logy; akin to Greek genos race

Adjective

Middle French genealogique, from genealogie + -ique -ical, -ic

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for genealogy

• anthology
• apology
• astrology
• biology
• christology
• chronology
• conchology
• cosmology
• cryptology
• cytology
• doxology
• ecology

Kids Definition

genealogy

noun

ge·​ne·​al·​o·​gy ˌjē-nē-ˈäl-ə-jē  ˌjen-ē- 

-ˈal-

plural genealogies

1

: the line of ancestors of a person or family or a history of such a line of ancestors

2

: the study of family lines of ancestors

genealogical

ˌjē-nē-ə-ˈläj-i-kəl 

ˌjen-ē-

adjective

genealogically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

genealogist

-ˈäl-ə-jəst, 

-ˈal-

noun